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Naked festivals & events around world

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While many shy away from showing skin, some people in around the world find it completely fine - and fun. Take a look at some naked-themed festivals and events used to promote causes and advocacies, while others are meant to commemorate important events. In Philippines, an annual naked run in the State University called the 'Oblation Run' is often used to protest national issues. The name has been taken from the University's official statue - the Oblation - which is a sculpture of a naked man with arms spread wide as a symbol of offering one's self to the country.

While many shy away from showing skin, some people in around the world find it completely fine - and fun. Take a look at some naked-themed festivals and events used to promote causes and advocacies, while others are meant to commemorate important events.
In Philippines, an annual naked run in the State University called the 'Oblation Run' is often used to protest national issues. The name has been taken from the University's official statue - the Oblation - which is a sculpture of a naked man with arms spread wide as a symbol of offering one's self to the country.

The 'Fremont Solstice Parade' is known for its wild procession of floats and naked people, takes place every year in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Begun in 1989 by Barbara Luecke and Peter Toms, the parade kicks off the Fremont fair and usually attracts thousands of spectators, many of them curious to get a peek at the Painted Naked Cyclists of the Solstice Parade, a non-political, artistic, clothing-optional bike ride that has unofficially started the parade since 1992.

Leopold museum in Vienna hosts a viewing of the "Nude Men from 1800 to today" exhibition with more than 300 paintings, photographs and sculptures focused on the nude male. The Exhibition drew more than 1lakh visitors every year.

Out of hundreds who participate only 30 people get chance to be part of 'Naked Sledding'. The team that completes the 90-meter task first gets to win whopping 1,000 GBP as prize. Since 2009, the sporting event has been held in Altenberg, Germany.

The annual Roskilde Festival has always been paired with a "Naked Run" where participants compete to get free tickets for the following year's festival. It is held on the first day of the week-long music festival and runners are expected to run a track around 7 kilometers.

Burning Man is a week-long event is held every year in the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada. It all began on the summer solstice 1986 when Larry Harvey and his friends spontaneously set fire to a nine-foot wooden man on Baker Beach in San Francisco. They decided to make it an annual event and during the next few years participants grew exponentially. Eventually the celebrations were moved to the Black Rock Desert. In 2010 more than 50,000 people participated.

Over a decade the "Festival Europeen de la Photo de Nu" (FEPN) or European Festival of Nude Photography, a festival of exhibitions, projections and workshops hosted by Arles is devoted to the body of humans. It is also the largest French and European event dedicated to nude photographs.

Japan is heart to several naked festivals and the Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri held on the 3rd Saturday of February at Saidai-ji Temple in Okayama is the most famous event is undoubtedly. In an age-old ritual over 9,000 men and boys participants run in white loincloths or "fundoshi" to reach shrine the shrine.

Naked wedding is the latest wedding form which has acquired attention in various places across the globe. In this wedding, the couple goes full-blown naked to find a way to make sure they would never forget their wedding day.